Entry sticker guide for rolling mills



June 16, 1959 L. F. MCAFFREY 2,890,609

ENTRY STICKER GUIDE ROLLING MILLS v Filed Jan. 23, 1956 4 4 Sheets-Sheet1 "as as Ew @L a m INVENTOR.

I05 n '9 LEO F. MGCAFFREY ATTORNEYS June 16, 1959: A L'. F/MOCAFFREY2,890,609

- ENTRY STICKER GUIDE FOR ROLLING MILLS Filed Jan. 23, 1956 I 4Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

LEO F. MiCAFFREY UMLM 'X'KLT V ATTORNEYS June 16, 1959 L. F. MQCAFFREY2,890,609

ENTRY .STICKER GUIDE FOR ROLLING MILLS Filed Jan. 25, 1.956 4Sheets-Sheet. 3

INVENTOR. v LEO F. MGCAFFR EV L ti mzvs June 16, 1959 L.F. MCCAFFREY2,890,609

Y ENTRY STICKER GUIDE FOR ROLLING MILLS Filed Jan. 2:5, 1956 4Sheets-Sheet 4 OOOOOO FFZQM ATTORNEYS Unite States Patent 2,890,609ENTRY STICKER GUIDE FOR ROLLING MILLS Leo F. McCafirey, Mansfield, Ohio,assignor'to E. W.

Bliss Company, Canton, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware ApplicationJanuary 23, 1956, Serial No. 560,656 ll Claim. (Cl. 80-51) Thisinvention relates, in general, to apparatus for guiding strip betweenwork rolls of rolling mill stands. In particular the invention relatesto apparatus for sticking the forward end of a strip of metal betweenthe work rolls of a rolling mill stand, and thereafter for guiding thestrip between the work rolls of subsequent rolling mill stands arrangedin tandem.

Various devices have been employed heretofore to guide steel stripthrough a rolling mill, and in particular a tandem rolling mill, andthese guides essentially comprise a plurality of members arranged tomaintain the position of the strip laterally and vertically with respectto the work rolls of the mill. To this purpose top and bottom platens ofsome form are employed in association with side members, the platensbeing adapted to provide some degree of pressure against the upper andlower surfaces of the strip as it passes through the mill, with the sidemembers serving to provide lateral alignment of the strip. Inasmuch asthese guides are usually permanently mounted on the mill stand housingsit is necessary to separate the upper and lower platens to provideclearance when first threading a strip through the stands of a rollingmill, but otherwise the platens are in clamped engagement with thestrip. In these prior art devices, in the clamped position the guide issubjected to wear due to the sliding of the steel between the upper andlower platens, and in the open position the platens do not sufiicientlyrestrict the undulating movement of the strip between stands to providegood control of the strip.

It is a principal object of this invention, therefore, to provide animproved strip guide for rolling mills which is adjustable to reduceexcessive wear of the platens, and yet maintains the strip in properalignment between stands.

Other objects of the invention include the provision of a strip guidewhich serves to stick the leading end of the strip between the workrolls of the first stand of a rolling mill, and to provide back tensionon the strip being fed into the first stand; the provision of a stripguide suitable for use as a so-called entry sticker guide i.e., a guideadapted to start strip between a pair of work rolls, or as anintermediate guide between stands of rolls; the provision of a stripguide which is adjustable to several positions, namely, closed, slightlyopen, and full open, whereby in the closed position the platens provideback tension on the strip being drawn therethrough, in the partiallyopen position the platens properly guide the strip into the work rollswithout subjecting the platens to abrading action of the strip, and inthe full open position the strip is readily threaded between the platensinto the work rolls of a mill stand; and the provision of a strip guidewhich is of simple construction and is trouble free in operation, whichserves either as a so-called entry sticker guide or as an intermediatestrip guide, and which is readily adjustable to. enable the rolls of themill to be removed and serviced without interference from the stripguides.

an entry sticker guide mounted opposite the work rolls of the firststand of a four-high mill;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view, partially sectioned, showing theapplication of the embodiment as an intermediate strip guide betweenstands of a rolling mill;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the embodiment of the invention shown inFigure 2;

Figure 4 is a rear elevational view, with parts broken out and withother parts partially sectioned, of the embodiment of the inventionshown in Figure 2;

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary detail view, partially sectioned,showing the quick release clamp means employed to secure wooden membersto the top face of the lower platen of the embodiment of the inventionshown in Figure 2;

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is a schematic plan view layout of a four stand tandem millemploying preferred embodiments of the invention; and

Figure 8 is a schematic elevational representation of the strip guideemployed in its various positions relative to a roll stand.

Reference is now made to Figure 1 wherein is shown a preferredembodiment of the invention employed as an entry sticker guide, i.e.,apparatus for gripping the lead end of a strip and forcing it betweenthe work rolls of a mill. This embodiment of the invention comprises aframe 10 slidingly mounted on a supporting base 12 which is rigidlysecured to the housing of a first mill stand 14 or subsequent mill stand102 (see also Figures 3 and 4). The lateral edges of the frame 10 areprovided with rectangular ways 16 and 18 (see Figure 4) to receivetherein track portions 20 and 22 of base 12 to guide the movement of theframe forwardly and rearwardly with respect to the mill stands 14 or102.

A power cylinder 24 is mounted on the base 12 and the forward end 25 ofthe piston 26 of the cylinder is secured to a depending lug 28 integralwith the frame 10. Standard means (not shown) are provided to energizethis cylinder 24, whereby the piston 26 will force frame 10 forwardly orrearwardly with respect to the mill stand 14. A second power cylinder 30is mounted on the upper portion of the frame 10, and the forward end ofthe piston 32 of this power cylinder is pivotally secured to the upperarm 34 of a bell crank 36. The bell crank 36 is pivotally secured to theframe 10, and the lower arm 38 of the bell crank is pivotally secured tothe rearward portion of the upper platen 40. The bell crank 36 isintegral with a sleeve 42 extending transversely across the frame 10 tocarry near its opposite end an arm 44 which is a companion to hell crankarm 38 (see Figure 3), and the sleeve 42 is pivotally journaled on across shaft 46 having its end portions mounted in the frame 10. Theforward portion of the upper platen 40 is pivotally secured to an pairof arms 48and 50 integral with a sleeve 52, and sleeve 52 is pivotallyjournaled to a cross shaft 54 having its end portions mounted in theframe 10. Arms 38, 44, 48 and 50 are pivotally mounted in the samehorizontal plane and are of equal length to form a parallelogram linkagewhich imparts vertical movement to the upper platen 40 while at the sametime maintaining the platen in a horizontal position.

The lower face 56 of the upper platen 40 is lined with a plurality ofelongated wooden slats or blocks 58 which Other objectives of theinvention will become apparwooden blocks 66 these blocks being held inplace by;

a pair of quick release clamps 68 and 70 (see 'alsoaFig sides of theblocks forcing them into pressure contact with side guide plates 72 and74. Filler blocks 76, 78, and 80 (see Figure 1) are also placed adjacentthe quick release clamps and are held in place by means of the dovetailor V cross-sectioned configuration of quick release clamps 68 and 70 andholding plates 82 and 84.

The strip guide in operation as an entry sticker guide functions in thefollowing manner (see Figure 1). The piston 26 of the cylinder 24 isretracted to shift the frame to the position shown at (b) of Figure 8.This movement away from the mill stand 14 is delimited by a plate member86 fastened to the side of the frame 10, a stud member 88 integral withthe mill stand housing 14 and projecting outwardly therefrom to passthrough an aperture in the plate member, and a nut 90 which isthreadedly received on the outer end of the stud member (see stand I ofFigure 7). By adjusting the nut 90 on the stud 88 the travel of theframe 10 is accordingly delimited.

With the nut 90 threaded on the stud 88, power cylinder 30 is thenenergized, by suitable means (not shown) to pivot said bell crank 36from position (b) of Figure 8 in a clockwise direction thereby shiftingthe upper platen 40 downwardly into clamping position on the strip S, asshown in position C of Figure 8. With the platens 40 and 64 gripping thestrip S therebetween, the power cylinder 24 is once more energized toshift the frame 10 forwardly toward the mill stand 14 and to stick theforward end of the strip between the work rolls 92 and 94 of the millstand (see position d of Figure 8). The work rolls will then draw thestrip therethrough, and in order to provide some back tension on thestrip, the platens 40 and 64 are maintained in this clamped position. Toclear the frame 10 from the window )6 of the mill stand housing 14 or102, the nut 90 is removed from the stud 88 and the piston 26 isretracted within the cylinder 24 to shift the frame beyond the outerlimit defined by the end of the stud (see Figure 1 and stand I of Figure7).

An embodiment of the invention (Figures 2, 3 and 4) is also employed asan intermediate guide between stands of rolls and for a betterunderstanding of this application of the invention, reference is nowspecifically made to Figure 2. This embodiment of the invention is quitesimilar to the previously described embodiment, and for clarity andbrevity of exposition, like parts are indicated by like numerals.

Power from the first stand of rolls 14 is suflicient to stick theleading end of the strip between the work rolls 98 and 100 of the stand102 so that no traversing of the frame 10 is required. Accordingly, nut90 is screwed down snug against plate 86 during normal operatingconditions. However, when the frame 10 is to be shifted clear of thehousing stand 102, as with the first dis cussed embodiment of theinvention, nut 90 is removed from stud 88 and the frame is then shiftedthe full length of the stroke of the cylinder 24 (see stand III ofFigure 7).

In threading the strip S into the work rolls 98 and 100 of the secondstand 102, the piston 32 of cylinder 30 of Figure 1 is retracted toelevate the upper platen 40 into full open position. After the strip Sis gripped by the work rolls of the second stand 102, cylinder 30 of thefirst stand guide is then re-energized to force the piston 32 outwardlyand platen 40 downwardly into a strip gripping position with the lowerplaten 64, and the platens are maintained in this gripping positionuntil the strip is threaded through all of the stands of the tandemmill.

To reduce friction between the strip S and the lower platens of theintermediate guides, means are provided to hold the upper platens 40spaced above the lower platens an optimum distance which will reducewear on the lower platen and yet provide good alignment of the strippassing therethrough. To this purpose, an additional power cylinder 104is provided with the guides employed between mill stands. This cylinder104 is mounted on the frame 10 and positioned so that its piston 106makes contact with a lug 108 secured to the cross shaft sleeve 42. Thepressure of the cylinder 104 is sufiicient to overcome the pressure ofcylinder 30, whereby bell crank 35 is counterrotated to incrementallyelevate the upper platen 40 from the strip. By employing pressure andcounter-pressure as provided by cylinders 30 and 104, a relatively fineadjustment can be made in the position of the upper platen with respectto the lower platen (see position e in Figure 8). This adjustment isvery advantageous since, as aforesaid, to maintain the platens in atightly clamped position on the strip when the mill has been brought upto speed results in excessive wear of the wooden blocks lining theplaten faces, thereby requiring frequent replacement thereof. On theother hand, to shift the upper platen to the full open positionnecessary to thread the mill reduces the control and effect of the guideon the strip. It has been found, however, that to elevate the upperplaten an incremental amount sufiicient to reduce frictional wear of theplatens by the strip, very good control can be maintained on the stripeven though the upper platen is no longer in pressure engagementtherewith.

It will be apparent, however, that friction of the strip against thewooden blocks 66 of the lower platen 64 has not been eliminated, and forthis reason the quick release clamps 68 and 70 are provided, asdiscussed hereinabove, to enable quick replacement of the wooden blockswhen they have become sufiiciently worn to require their removal.

While only two embodiments of the invention are shown and describedhereinabove, it is not intended that these embodiments be construed in alirniting sense. Other changes and modifications will occur to thoseskilled in the art following the teaching of the present invention whichwill be within the spirit and scope of the appended claim.

Iclaim:

In combination, an entry sticker guide for a rolling mill standincluding a frame shiftably secured to said mill stand, first motormeans to shift said frame to and from said mill stand along a horizontalpath, a lower platen rigidly secured to the said frame, an upper platenshiftably secured to said frame, and bell crank means adapted to shiftsaid upper platen to and from said lower platen while maintaining saidplatens parallel, the improvement comprising: second double acting motormeans drivingly connected between said frame and said bell crank, saidmotor means when actuated to operate in one direction urges said upperplaten through said bell crank into clamping engagement with said lowerplaten, and when actuated to operate in the opposite direction urgessaid upper platen through said bell crank away from said lower platen;and third motor means secured between said frame and said bell crank tooppose the effort of said second motor means on said bell crank tostabilize said upper platen at any predetermined position above saidlower platen.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,816,829 De Leeuw Aug. 4, 1931 2,083,660 Nyberg June 15, 1937 2,092,480Talbot Sept. 7, 1937 2,165,104 Klein July 4, 1939 2,192,409 McBain Mar.5, 1940 2,331,392 Haig Oct. 12, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS 389,306 GreatBritain Mar. 16, 1933

